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Month: March, 2022
Bryan Sullivan Speaks to TheWrap on Bob Chapek’s Second Year as Disney CEO
Category: News, Uncategorized | Wednesday, March 30th, 2022 | Comments Off on Bryan Sullivan Speaks to TheWrap on Bob Chapek’s Second Year as Disney CEO
Bryan Sullivan was recently quoted in Diane Haithman’s TheWrap article “Why Disney CEO Bob Chapek Gets Both an A and an F on His 2nd-Year Report Card.” The article focuses on the past year at Disney and evaluates Chapek’s leadership during his second year as CEO. According to Bryan, while Chapek’s initial waffling on Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill may have been a PR misstep, the CEO is still doing well financially.
“There’s bad PR, and there’s bad business,” Bryan told TheWrap. “Chapek has a PR problem, not a business problem… Investors are not dumping Disney.”
Read the article below (subscription below).
Why Disney CEO Bob Chapek Gets Both an A and an F on His 2nd-Year Report Card
Devin McRae Sheds Light On Possible Legal Ramifications of Will Smith’s Oscars Slap in The Washington Post
Category: News, Press | Tuesday, March 29th, 2022 | Comments Off on Devin McRae Sheds Light On Possible Legal Ramifications of Will Smith’s Oscars Slap in The Washington Post
In an article published in The Washington Post, Devin McRae weighed in on the recent Oscars incident in which Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock in the face on stage after Rock made a joke about the actor’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Moments later, Smith went on to win the Oscar Award for Best Actor for his performance as Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena Williams, in “King Richard.”
The article details the divided opinions from celebrities who were in attendance and viewers who watched the incident play out on live TV, in addition to forecasting how both the Academy and the Los Angeles Police Department should respond.
In Devin’s opinion, the possibility of any criminal charges being filed are unlikely because Rock declined to press charges at the time of the incident, even though the case could be prosecuted as criminal assault and battery.
“The LAPD or the sheriff’s office doesn’t really need a complaining witness in a case like that if the evidence of the act is on film,” Devin says. “A lot of criminal agencies are so overburdened with work that, for this type of thing, if the victim doesn’t want to press charges, it might be routine for them to just not prosecute it and not have to devote the resources.”
Read the full article below (subscription required).
The industry — and the academy — are torn on how to handle Will Smith’s Oscars slap
Bryan Sullivan Comments On Amazon’s Acquisition of MGM For TheWrap
Category: Press | Wednesday, March 23rd, 2022 | Comments Off on Bryan Sullivan Comments On Amazon’s Acquisition of MGM For TheWrap
In a recent article for TheWrap, Bryan Sullivan shared his thoughts on Amazon’s recent acquisition of MGM.
In addition to outlining the logistics of the $8.5 billion deal, the article notes the contrasting cultures of Amazon and MGM, and it considers how this will affect the roles of top MGM executives, including Mike De Luca and Mark Burnett. The article examines additional hurdles that could arise if the leadership structure remains unclear, including whether MGM will retain autonomy with major decisions regarding films and television shows.
“This is not a merger, this is a straight up acquisition,” Bryan remarks. “Amazon is in the driver’s seat. And MGM just goes along for the ride.”
Read the full article below (subscription required).
Why MGM’s Top Execs Face an Uphill Battle Under Amazon Leadership
Bryan Sullivan Speaks to Newsy About Studios Purchasing Individuals’ Life Rights
Category: News, Press | Friday, March 11th, 2022 | Comments Off on Bryan Sullivan Speaks to Newsy About Studios Purchasing Individuals’ Life Rights
In a recent segment by Newsy, Bryan Sullivan shares extensive insight on the legalities of purchasing an individual’s life rights to create art. The segment exemplifies this practice by detailing Netflix’s purchase of Anna Sorokin’s life rights, resulting in its creation of “Inventing Anna.”
While Netflix reportedly paid $320,000 for Sorokin’s life rights, Bryan explains that purchasing an individual’s life rights is not required in order to tell their story, and there is no set cost to purchase. Studios choose to purchase rights for a number of reasons, including the guarantee that the individual is not able to sue the studio for defamation or privacy concerns. Bryan also notes that acquiring life rights results in exclusive access to telling the story, and it can even result in access to important artifacts such as diaries, emails, and documents.
“It would be imperative that they get actual access to her and exclusive access, so that she doesn’t go around telling her story to everybody else, undercutting the value of the rights,” Bryan says.
Watch the segment or read more of Bryan’s comments on Newsy below.
What Does It Mean To Buy The Rights To A Life Story?
Devin McRae Quoted In Los Angeles Times On Violence Concerns Surrounding Kanye West’s “Eazy”
Category: Press | Thursday, March 3rd, 2022 | Comments Off on Devin McRae Quoted In Los Angeles Times On Violence Concerns Surrounding Kanye West’s “Eazy”
In an article published in the Los Angeles Times, Devin McRae weighed in on the recent controversy surrounding the release of Kanye West’s “Eazy” music video. The music video depicts a cartoon version of West kidnapping and burying celebrity Pete Davidson, who is publicly involved with West’s ex-wife, Kim Kardashian.
The article notes complaints from offended viewers demanding that the video be taken down from Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube, and it questions whether social media companies have a legal obligation to delete offensive material.
The article also compares West’s music video to the lyrics of rap artist Jamal Knox. In 2018, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled that Knox could be held criminally liable for naming specific police officers as well as ways he would harm them in his songs. Devin notes that the lyrics were about the rap artist’s arresting officers.
“You can see that there are a lot more circumstances that would lead one to believe it’s a true threat,” Devin says. “I think it would most likely be seen to be perhaps in bad taste but not legally actionable.”
Read the full article below (subscription required).
Did Ye’s revenge music video go too far?